Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle

An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman went on tour together and the result was magic. Fresh from touring with the Transatlantic Sessions, John McCusker joked that the stellar cast was holding them back, so the three of them had decided to go it alone. McCusker is known as a fiddler, but he showed he can turn his hand to anything, also picking up a bouzouki, whistles and harmonium, while McGoldrick swapped between uilleann pipes, whistles, flute and tenor guitar and John Doyle set the speed with his steady accompaniment and interspersed the tunes with traditional and self-penned songs. The procession of exquisitely emotive slow airs and rhythmic sets of marches, strathspeys, jigs and reels showed why these three belong among the best in the world.

Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham, 4 March 2014

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